1st Step – Budget

1st Step – Budget. DETERMINING NEW HOME BUDGET: Prior to purchasing your land or if you own property, first determine the overall budget you can afford for your new home, land, land development, driveway installation and utilities (electric, sewer, water). If you do not own your property call Ai at 321-639-8777 and we will email a document that lists items to watch out for when purchasing property.

This means find out:

What it costs per sq.ft. to build a conventional house (not a tract home) in the area you want to build in. View model homes finished to your design preferences for appliances, cabinetry, flooring, bathroom fixtures, etc. Multiply the square footage of the dome you are considering building times this cost per sq.ft. to obtain approx. finished house cost. This cost does not include the land or driveway or site preparation or utilities.

American Ingenuity manufacturers ten dome kit sizes, which when finished with local materials result in 172 sq.ft. to 3,000 sq.ft. homes. From one bedroom one bath to four or five bedroom three bath size homes. A dome kit consists of all the prefab panels to assemble the dome shell and panels for one entryway. Each floor plan varies as to the type and number of entryways and dormers. These items are added on to the kit with one entryway pricing. To view Pricing Charts which list what three buyers purchased from Ai (Plans, Engineer Seal on the plans, Energy Report, Dome kit with entryways & dormers, Parts List Items, Shipping Costs, etc.), click on Dome Kit Charts.

One 27′ through 48′ size dome kit requires one semi-truck for delivery. Ai believes the Buyer should not pay shipping costs for another semi-truck to deliver materials such as exterior doors, windows, bathroom fixtures, kitchen cabinets, flooring, etc. which can be competitively sourced and purchased locally from Home Depot, or Lowes, or Craigs List or eBay, etc.

To view stock floor plans showing room arrangements for each size dome, click on Dome Home Plans. To view the plans and kit sale pricing for each of the stock floor plans, click on Plans & Kit Sale Pricing.

Decide if you are going to be an Owner Builder or hire a builder to build your new home. Being an owner builder utilizing family and friends will reduce your labor costs. As an owner-builder, you could even manage to pay for the construction of your new dome out of pocket as you go. Impossible you say? Think again. Hundreds of families finance their domes this way, and you can, too. You just build more with your brains than your billfold. It is not the easiest or quickest route to a new dome, but it just might be the most satisfying. However if you need to obtain financing, the lender will usually require a licensed builder be involved with your project and requires a cash down payment based on the finished price of the house. To view other info about how to finance your new dome home, click on financing booklet.

If Hiring a Builder: Due to requests for assistance in locating a local builder to assemble the concrete dome building kit and finish the dome, American Ingenuity (Ai) has added a new service. Ai offers assistance with finding a contractor in continental USA, for a fee of $100 Ai will contact builders in the area you are considering building. Once we have 3-4 potential builders/contractors, we will email their contact information. When Building Plans are purchased, Ai will credit the $100.00 back to you. We also have an email we send each perspective builder which says they can call us with questions. The email contains important info about the Aidome building kit and how anindependent kit assembly consultant can be hired to supervise the builder’s workers to get the prefabricated panels installed for the exterior dome shell with one layer of concrete in the seams between the panels. Then the consultant can leave and the builder’s subs (plumbers, electricians, framers, cabinet installers, painters, etc.) finish the interior and prime and paint the exterior concrete. In the email is a link for the builder to view a sample set of building plans. For international builder assistance, please call for pricing.Contact your local Home Builder’s Association and your local Building Department and ask if they have a list of local builders which can be emailed. When calling the builder, first thing ask if the firm is used to working with concrete and then ask if they are interested in working outside the box by assembling a dome building kit consisting of prefabricated concrete panels. If they have time give them our web site address so they can see what a finished dome looks like. Explain that an independent consultant can be hired to supervise their workers for the shell assembly and that Ai can send them an email that contains info about the dome building kit, a link to a sample set of building plans and that Ai can be called to answer questions so that the builder can research construction costs for your dome project or work on a Cost Plus basis.

Land costs in the area you want to build. It is sometimes best to purchase a small piece of affordable land instead of large acreage. This way you keep your land cost down so you have more cash money available for your mortgage cash down payment or more cash to build your new home if you are an owner/builder.

Cost for utilities: electric, water, sewer.

If the property has city or county water and sewer lines, find out what the hookup fees are.

If a septic tank with drain field and well need to be installed, call septic tank and well drilling companies to get costs.

Find out where closest electric pole is and what the cost is to connect to electricity

Cost for driveway and site preparation for the foundation.

When purchasing property, if lot is long and narrow think about length of driveway, rock costs etc. to build driveway.

For proper drainage the city or county will want the finished floor height so many inches above the crown of the nearest city or county maintained road. This elevation will determine how much fill has to be brought in and compacted to 2,000 lbs per sq.ft. for your foundation.

To keep your construction costs down, best to build as small a dome as possible; therefore you are on your property living in a super-strong, super-energy efficient dome home saving money on your heating & cooling costs to add on a second dome later. To view stock plans showing square footage by dome size, click on Dome Home Plans.

For example a 40ft in diameter dome (3 bedroom, two bath) can have 1,800 sq.ft. A 36ft in diameter dome (2 or 3 bedroom, two bath) can have 1,400 to 1,600 sq.ft. If the finished cost per square foot for a new home in your area is $105, then building the smaller 36ft dome automatically saves you $20,000 to $40,000 in construction costs.

A 27ft dome (two bedroom/two bath) can have 800 sq.ft. Building a 27ft dome with 800 sq.ft. vs a 36ft dome with 1,600 sq.ft. automatically saves you $60,000 to $80,000 in construction costs.

A 15′ dome (one bedroom/one bath) has 172 sq.ft. Building a 15′ dome with 172 sq.ft. vs a 27′ dome of 800 sq.ft. automatically saves you around $63,000 in finishing costs.

For an approximate cost to build in the area you are considering, please contact Ai for a web site link to review. 321-639-8777.